The Genius of Humanity
The beginning of wisdom, get wisdom, and with all thy possession purchase prudence. The genius of mankind knows few bounds... Miracles of the Modern Age The Blink Drive Perhaps the single most important technology of the Warring Stars period is the blink drive (also known as the shayan or tay al-ard drive in Chinese and Arabic), a device that allows instantaneous faster-than-light travel. The blink drive is what allowed humanity to escape the confines of its home system and spread through the galaxy instead of being confined to a single solar system and eventual, inevitable stagnation. Blink drives work by creating stable, artificial wormholes. The ship itself then uses conventional drives to go through the wormhole, which collapses behind it while the ship 'blinks' into its destination space. Since the transit is effectively instantaneous (it lasts around 50 femtoseconds, or 0.000000000000005 seconds), little is known about the space 'between' the two ends of the wormhole. Even the most advanced detection gear fails, and some scientists believe it is because whatever lies between blinks is so bizarre that known technology simply cannot come to grips with it, much like dark matter in the 20th century. The chief limitation of the blink drive is that it can only transport ships up to fifty light years from their starting point. The reason for this, as with much of the exact operation of blink drives, remains unclear, but the energy requirements for a blink longer than fifty light years are impossibly high (they are believed to be around 1 petawatt or 1 billion megawatts, far beyond the capabilities of even the most advanced fusion reactors). As a way around it, some Human researchers are pinning their hopes in nanotechnology, which may be able to create super-efficient blink drives that can create wormholes for much less energy than presently required. Most ships need a full day for their blink drives to cool down and then recharge; many military vessels and some high-end civilian craft can jump more rapidly, although repeated jumps in a short span of time greatly increase the wear on the blink drives and the engines in general. During the War of the Dauphins, a task force of French battleships made a record-breaking eight consecutive jumps to reach the Gauß system; they achieved complete surprise and wiped out the Eridani fleet, but all the surviving battleships had to have their blink drives completely replaced afterwards. The damage to the Calypso was so great that the ship had to be scrapped. Smaller ships would probably have destroyed entirely, and experts believe as many as one in ten lost ships vanish from catastrophic blink drive overload. The Extended Periodic Table Over the past few centuries, scientists have discovered and created many more elements. The most famous and important is, without doubt, kuangium, but many others have become important parts of daily life and economy. * 113 - Japonium * 114 - Flerovium * 115 - Kircherium * 116 - Hanium * 117 - Moskovium * 118 - Fennicum * 119 - Monsregium * 120 - Porofrancium * 121 - Gallicum * 122 - Sciamhaevium * 123 - Quanchium * 124 - Nacuadium * 125 - Trinium * 126 - Kuangium * 127 - Orichalcium * 128 - Colcatium * 129 - Tanium * 130 - Teutonium * 131 - Nanchinium * 132 - Huangdium * 133 - Zhuanxuium * 134 - Kuium * 135 - Yaoium * 136 - Shunium * 137 - Ultimum Interstellar Communication It may be fairly easy to send a starship through a wormhole, but signals are another matter entirely. While it is theoretically possible for a ship to hold open a wormhole for a few seconds before making the blink, and using that window of opportunity to transmit a radio or laser signal, all such efforts fail. Either the wormhole itself or the between-space absorbs any such signals, making wormholes useless as a communications shortcut. In light of this, interstellar civilizations have two options. The first is to send radio or laser messages across the vastness of space. This is clearly impractical, since it would take years to send a message to even a nearby star, let alone receive its reply. No modern civilization uses this technique on an interstellar level, although it is sometimes employed for interplanetary purposes. The second option is, of course, to have starships carry the messages with them. Even a low-end modern computer can store mind-boggling amounts of data. The typical shipboard computer can theoretically carry an entire star system's daily allotment of mail and messages, while specialized courier ships can store a week or even a month's worth of data. Message Express Formally known as the Interstellar Congress Messenger Express Service, Message Express is a large interstellar agency based on Unity which links the many solar systems of Humanity together. ICMES ships run on regular routes between two (or more) stars, carrying messages, news updates, and other information. Their regular clients are news corporations and media firms, but private citizens can also send messages for a fee based on the size of the message in question. Governments have their own smaller courier services and rarely use the ICMES, although sometimes they transmit classified and heavily encrypted messages to their embassies using the service to avoid detection. The ICMES' privacy is sacrosanct, and as the planet Saba found out, any interference draws the wrath of all the great powers. Without the ICMES' service, many remote planets would be almost entirely out of contact with the rest of humanity; before the formation of the ICMES, many Free Worlds were forced to rely on their planetary governments for news of the wider galaxy, news which was often misleading and incomplete and usually weeks or even months out of date. The typical ICMES courier is a small, fast vessel stripped down to little more than engines, a cockpit and a tiny crew rest area. They usually have a crew of three, although couriers on major routes are sometimes larger. After a brief and failed experiment with AI crews, the ICMES has reverted to the traditional set-up, much to the relief of tens of thousands of message jockeys. On the far-flung frontiers of humanity, message jockeys are generally regarded as heroes who keep isolated planets tied together with their distant neighbors as part of a greater galactic community. Medicine and Health Over the past few centuries, Humanity has made tremendous advances in the areas of medicine and health. The most important discoveries have concerned life extension, genetic engineering and disease control. The average lifespan of a Human born in 2488, barring accidents, disease or other misfortune, is around 200 years. The vast majority of this consists of the "Golden Years," an extended period where the body remains at its peak. In effect, Humans of the Warring Stars era are physically around 20 years old for over a century. Despite the best efforts of longevity specialists, aging then 'relapses' and one passes through several decades of gradual decline leading to natural death. Genetic Engineering. The Humans of the late 24th century are outwardly identical to their 21st century counterparts (although slightly taller on average). Inside, though, science has lead to what could be called an improved model. Warring Stars Humans are moderately stronger, have faster reflexes and are slightly quicker to recover from injury and illness. Illness itself remains a problem. Old diseases, including such ravages as AIDS and D22B1 (a form of flu that killed tens of millions of people in the mid 21st century), have long ago been cured, but new ones continue to emerge. Each new planet has a host of unique diseases, and it typically takes a generation or two for vaccines to be developed. (This is, incidentally, one of the reasons why only the richest nations and corporations can afford colonial expansion - few others have the financial resources to cope with xenopathogens.) The sought-after "universal cure" has been "just around the corner" for at least a hundred years, always foiled by the diversity of the galactic biosphere. Computers and Robotics The interstellar societies of the Warring Stars era are more dependant on computers and robots than ever before. Travel between stars would be impossible without the massive computational power in the typical navigational system. No human mind can safely plot coordinates (which must be accurate out to at least one hundred decimal points). Orbital cities rely on computers to operate their environmental systems and robots to perform routine and dangerous work. Terraforming programs operate almost entirely independently of human supervision. A wide variety of devices serve to keep modern civilization afoot. The most common are so-called Dumb Computers. A Human of the 21st century flung into the year 2388 would easily recognize a Dumb Computer, even if its capabilities far exceed those of his era. The process of computerizing society that began in the late 20th century has largely halted by the late 24th century. Nearly every facet of daily life involves computers, from the paperless office to the 'smart home' to the proliferation of advanced wireless computer networks (the descendent of the Internet) linking all the planets, moons, asteroids and artificial settlements in most solar systems settled by Humans. The promises of artificial intelligence have been fulfilled in large part. Adaptive and possessing computational power and speed that dwarfs any Dumb Computer, the incredibly expensive Smart Computers are the brains behind many of the more complicated information & control systems on the older worlds of the Hub (and their smaller counterparts are younger colony worlds). The Yan Shi system on Diqiu is a typical example of a Smart Computer. It consists of five seperate central processors (or sub-brains) that coordinate to monitor and regulate nearly every official automated system on and around Diqiu, from trans-Pacific vactrains to the hydroelectric turbines of the Gibraltar dam to orbital microwave power stations. To prevent a software glitch from shortcircuting the entire planet, Yan Shi has both internal (thirty layers of cutting-edge electronic security) and external (three completely seperate and redundant back-up systems, each in different secure locations) safeguards. Yan Shi, like most of its counterparts, is not truly self-aware, although it does possess the ability to learn and adapt to a sometimes shocking degree (its efficiency is now 14% higher than when first activated, a figure that cannot be accounted for just by software and hardware upgrades). There is a large body of spacer folklore that holds Yan Shi is self-aware and the secret power behind the Chinese Imperial Throne. Similar stories exist for its counterparts on many other Hub worlds. If computers, Dumb or Smart, are the brains of the automated society, robots are the muscle. Most tasks involving physical labor are done by robots in the 24th century. Factories are entirely automated (and often the human supervisor is miles away, observing remotely). Construction, too, is largely robotic, at least on the large scale - skyscrapers, roads, tunnels, and the like. While robots are stronger, faster and more precise, and don't get tired, hot or sick, resulting in faster, safer work, the downside is the vastly reduced demand for unskilled or semi-skilled Human labor. On many worlds in the Hub, there is very little need for that kind of work, forcing those without technical education or college degrees to gravitate towards the services (also an area where robots are valued by employers) or, as most do, emigrate to a colony world. Many of the outlying systems limit robot labor to hazardous situations, or as supplemants to Humans, to attract immigrants. Not all robots are mindless machines, though. The cutting-edge of artificial intelligence research involves small-scale Smart Computers placed in robot bodies. Global Smart Computers are useful because of their vast scope - Yan Shi can regulate everything from global weather patterns down to the length of time a suburban rail car takes to travel between two stations. Androids and gynoids, intelligent robots in male or female form, are far less powerful, but also much more intelligent. Their processors are designed to maximize adaptiveness, reaction and learning instead of rote efficiency. While the earliest generations of androids and gynoids were little more than ordinary robots, more modern models (those built in the last thirty years or so) are startingly human, both in appearance and in intelligence. The ethical debates over self-aware robots are, to put it mildly, intense. Most worlds ban the construction and sale of androids and gynoids, but a few stellar nations (Tingwok and Saint Persephone, for example) have embraced them. Gear and Guns Battle Armor The standard battle armor of the 25th century protects from both enemy weapons and hostile environments. Top of the line designs fully enclose the soldier and offer complete, hermetically sealed environmental systems, as well as carefully constructed armor that combines flexibility with protection. Cheaper designs, the kind often used by low-rent mercenaries, thugs, spacers and other riff-raff, emphasize physical protection and require the addition of clean-air masks (or helmets) and sealant suits. Burst Bomb Burst bombs are the standard explosive weapon of the 25th century. Each burst bomb is actually a capsule (of varying shapes and sizes) containing dozens, or hundreds, of small explosive 'eggs'. Some burst bombs are dumb (exploding on contact or after a set time from being dropped/shot/triggered), others have sophisticated sensors that set them off at the ideal time. Either way, the capsule shatters and the eggs shoot out in all directions and then explode, causing massive and widespread destruction. There are a few small, hand-held burst bombs (designed to be thrown like grenades), but using them is definitely a calculated risk. 'Comp The direct descendant of the laptops and netbooks of the 20th and 21st centuries, comps are essential for any human, spacer or otherwise. They provide a lot more storage than their ancient ancestors, but the old maxim about applications always catching up to capacity is as true in 2488 as ever. Spacers find all sorts of uses for their comps, and most take pride in twisting the designs as best they can. Personal records, economic information, translation voice software, satellite (or ship) based positioning software, local area maps, the list goes on and on. Flechette Rifle Not many projectile weapons remain in use in the 25th century, but it's not all that uncommon to see flechette rifles in service with law enforcement or para-military types. Flechette rifles shoot pointed metal darts (usually small and thin ones) instead of bullets. Shot at high speeds, flechettes have tremendous penetrating power. Aside from that, the main advantage of flechette rifles is that they're easy and cheap to manufacture. A small desktop workplatform can make one with a few metal tubes and a handful of simple parts, compared to the expensive and complicated components of plasma and laser weapons; this makes flechette rifles popular with guerilla movements and criminal organizations. Why buy or steal weapons when you can make your own? Laser Pistol The good old-fashioned laser pistol is the basic 24th century sidearm. Accurate, easy to use, and able to cut through most simple armor, the laser pistol isn't fancy, but it gets the job done. Most lasers use chemical agents as power sources, and the chemicals are the 'ammunition' of the weapon. A typical deuterium 'clip' (really a carefully sealed metal slug) is good for a couple hundred shots before it's time to replace and reload. Plasma Rifle Plasma rifles are cousins of a sort of laser pistols. Instead of shooting a beam of coherent light, plasma rifles fire pulses of plasma (superheated gas). Plasma rifles tend to have a good bit more bang for the buck than laser pistols, but lasers are generally acknowledged to be more accurate. Which one is the better weapon is the source of endless (and pointless) debate and argument. Shock Baton The shock baton is a graphite or plastic handle (18-24 inches long, generally) topped by an electrically charged tip (usually blunt, sometimes pointed). Getting hit with one is a good way to get a quick nap, although repeated or lengthy attacks with one can cause neurological damage (poking someone in the head with a shock baton is a common torture technique). It's a popular weapon aboard spaceships and space stations where cutting or blasting holes in the walls is generally an extremely bad idea. Larger versions, shock staffs, also exist, and are often found in the hands of 1) extremely talented martial artists or 2) future neurology patients who think they're extremely talented martial artists. Sonic Grenade Sonic grenades are a common non-lethal weapon, much beloved of crowd control units and hostage rescue teams. They look and work like old-fashioned explosive grenades, going off a set span of time (5 seconds, usually) after their pin is pulled or their trigger pressed. But instead of exploding, sonic grenades let out an ultra-high pitched squeal that induces unconsciousness in anybody close enough to hear it. It should go without saying that only an idiot would use a sonic grenade without plugging his ears up first, but it does happen now and then. Squeeze Net Another common non-lethal weapon, squeeze nets are usually fired by vehicle mounted cannons, but smaller rifle-ized versions exist. Either way, the premise is simple - it's a net with electromagnetic pads around the edge. When the net is fully extended, the pads switch on, and turn the net into a bag, trapping anybody inside it. You can cut your way out of a squeeze net, but that's easier said than done since the good ones pin your arms in tight on top of being made of sturdy super-metals. Stealth Cloak Armor is always in a race with weapons, and at the moment, weapons are winning, but the stealth cloak does even the odds a little. These expensive devices are actually more like ghillie suits than cloaks, and use a grid of computerized sensors and electro-chemical paint to make the outfit blend in with its surroundings to the point where the naked eye can very rarely spot the difference. In effect, someone looking at a person wearing a stealth cloak will 'see' through them at the ground and objects behind them. This disguise extends into the infrared and ultraviolet spectrums, to a lesser extent, but won't fool non-visual sensors or (except in hideously expensive and rare versions), laser motion detectors. Spacer Survival Kit This little package is the generally accepted 'bare necessity' bag a smart spacer never travels without. If, as sometimes happens, a spacer finds himself stranded on a strange or hostile planet, the good old SSK will allow him to survive long enough to find help, or for help to find him. * 10 vitamin pills * 10 days worth of nutrient bars * 1 sealed skinsuit (endures temperatures from -20 to 100 C, recycles 95% of body waste and perspiration) * 1 water purification kit * 1 atmosphere converter mask * 1 laser pistol (100 shot charge) * 1 hassium utility knife * 1 plasma stove * 1 element-proof tent * 1 pulse beacon/communicator (10,000 km range) Space Commando.jpg|Battle Armor typical comps.jpg|Typical 'Comps Flechette Rifle.gif|Flechette Rifle laser pistol.jpg|Laser Pistol Plasma Rifle.jpg|Plasma Rifle Shock Batons.jpg|Shock Batons (staff sized) sonic grenade.jpg|Sonic Grenade Stealth Cloak.jpg|Stealth Cloak (in use) Terrestrial Vehicles Aircar Length: 8 meters Crew: 1 Speed: 1500 km/h Armament: None The aircar is a common form of long-range planetary transport. Descended from the private jets of the early space age, an aircar is a supersonic vehicle that balances speed, performance and comfort depending on the model. While hypersonic trains and massive sub-orbital transports handle the bulk of public transport on most worlds, aircars serve to connect smaller population centers and also as private vehicles. A typical aircar holds anywhere between eight and ten passengers as well as a pilot. Luxury aircars, on the other hand, are either mobile offices or airborne limos according to the tastes of their owner. A very few aircars are designed for orbital conditions, but most are limited to the atmosphere. Black Knight Battle Suit Height: 3 meters Crew: 1 Speed: 10 km/h Armament: 2 light rail guns, 4 rocket-propelled grenades, 1 light plasma rifle (typical carried weapon) This British battle armor transforms an individual soldier into a light fighting vehicle. While the battle armor is well armed, the primary value of the suit is to electronically connect the soldier to the rest of his unit as well as his commanding officer (and the CO to his own CO all the way up to regimental HQ). When the system works, it integrates the entire combat force from squad up to regiment, allowing commanders to react quicker to situations on the ground as the battle shapes up. When it doesn't (thanks to jamming, malfunctions, or environmental conditions), the soldier is still a well-armed warrior in a heavy suit of battle armor with enhanced battlefield sensors (high and low frequency microphones with auto-translators for a dozen languages, infrared and ultraviolet visor filters, and short-range radar). In theory, two of the six companies in every battalion in the Commonwealth Army will be armored infantry companies. In practice, armored companies are scattered haphazardly throughout regiments, with some regiments consisting entirely of armored troops, some (usually those on safe inner planets) having only a single company, and most falling somewhere in between. Groundcar Length: 5 meters Crew: 1 Speed: 200 km/h Armament: None The humble groundcar has been around since the late 19th century, although the modern versions bear very little resemblance to their ancestors. Modern cars are powered by hydrogen fuel cells and, depending on the exact model, can range from speedy sportsters to rugged off-road vehicles designed for the frontier. Some of the more durable and long-range models of groundcars have been converted into light combat vehicles by sticking a plasma cannon and some armor plating on them; these technicals (also known as qiangqiche, chariots de fusil, jamali or kampffuhrwerken) are a favorite of rebels and militias alike. Sub-Orbital Scramjet Length: 70 meters Crew: 2 + attendants Speed: 21,000 km/h Armament: None Hypersonic successors to the jetliners of the 20th century, sub-orbital scramjets are the main method of mass intercontinental travel in the 24th century. Fast enough to circle the Earth in two hours, scramjets have made planets smaller than ever. The typical scramjet can carry between 300 and 500 passengers; the short duration of most flights means that only a few scramjets have the equivalent of business or first class cabins. A common variant is designed to dock with orbital facilities (or a handful of specially designed starliners that can carry scramjets). Vacuum Train Length: 400 meters Crew: 1 + attendants Speed: 8000 km/h Armament: None The vacuum train or vactrain is another popular method of long-distance planetary travel. It is found only on central planets with a long history of settlement; frontier worlds lack the population and infrastructure to make vactrains possible. Built in specially sealed airless tunnels excavated using laser and plasma robot-drills, vactrains can achieve speeds of up to 8000 km/h, allowing them to circle an entire planet in just five hours or so. Vactrains are generally used by the rich, who prefer their 'leisurely' method of travel compared to scramjets. The typical 20-car train seats around 400 passengers in 16 passenger cars and has 2 lounge-bar cars and a power car at the front and at the rear. Vijayanta Gravtank Length: 8 meters Crew: 4 Speed: 100 km/h Armament: 1 medium rail gun, 4 anti-vehicle missiles, 5 double light rail guns The current Sinha approach to warfare, like most great powers, emphasizes the naval aspect and views ground forces mainly as occupation armies. Most of the Sinha army is made up of countless regiments of light infantry trained to keep public order and combat rebels, but it does have a smaller mechanized force created after the Franco-Eridani War showed the possibility of major ground combat still exists. The Vijayanta gravtanks first entered the Sinha Army in 2485 and have already proven popular with the troops. It is fast, agile and packs sufficient punch to break through most enemy forces. The ability to hover up to three meters off the ground lets it bypass many obstacles and gives it some protection from landmines. Xuan Wu Landcruiser Height: 60 meters Crew: 20 Speed: 40 km/h Armament: 2 medium plasma cannons, 1 medium rail gun, 8 light rail guns, 2 light plasma cannons, 4 surface-to-air missiles, 10 anti-vehicle missiles This Zhongguo vehicle is the Emperor of the Battlefield. A descendent of the super-heavy tanks of the mid-20th century, the Xuan Wu is designed to dominate the battlefield as thoroughly as battleships dominate the space lanes. With armament and armor equivalent to a light warship, the slow and somewhat lumbering Xuan Wus are almost indestructible in ground combat. Each one carries a heavy infantry platoon of 60 soldiers and a pair of lighter armed transports, making a Xuan Wu a mobile garrison. On many Zhongguoan frontier planets, the Xuan Wu is the visible face of both the military and the Empire (as protective father). Rebels fear and avoid the Xuan Wu, both because only heavy military weaponry can destroy one and because the Xuan Wu's firepower can easily decimate even large numbers of insurgent forces. Only carefully planned ambushes can defeat the landcruisers. aircar.jpg|Aircar battle suit.jpg|Black Knight Battle Suit groundcar.jpg|Groundcar scramjet 2.jpg|Scramjet vactrain cars.jpg|Vacuum Train gravtank 2.jpg|Vijayanta Gravtank landcruiser.jpg|Xuan Wu Landcruiser